Oct 25, 2013
Gary K. Schwartz, MD, a medical oncologist and internist, Professor of Medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College, and Chief of Memorial Sloan-Kettering’s Melanoma and Sarcoma Service, was recently named an Associate Editor of the Journal of Clinical Oncology (JCO). In the following interview, Dr. Schwartz discusses his new role.
AC: How does your experience as a researcher and writer guide you as an editor?
Dr. Schwartz: As well as being the Chief of the Melanoma and Sarcoma Service at MSKCC, I also direct theJennifer Goodman Linn Laboratory of New Drug Development in Sarcoma and Orphan Cancers. Therefore, my writing efforts have focused on both my clinical and laboratory research in drug development across solid tumors, including gastrointestinal (GI) malignancies, sarcoma, and melanoma. I believe this background gives me a unique perspective when reviewing articles for JCO.
AC: Any advice for aspiring contributors?
Dr. Schwartz: I am looking for articles that reflect the very best in clinical research. Ideally, the clinical trials that are accepted for publication will be those that have the capacity to change the patterns of patient care in medical oncology. In terms of advice for future contributors, the metric that one should use in considering a submission for JCO is whether the clinical results are novel and whether they will have a significant impact upon cancer care.
AC: How is JCO different from other journals?
Dr. Schwartz: JCO has very high standards. In contrast to other journals, the review process is very dynamic, and the Associate Editors play a major role in the decision-making process. In fact, I do not know of any other journal where all of the Associate Editors and the Editor-in-Chief meet every two weeks by teleconference to discuss complex or controversial articles, and where a collective decision is made regarding acceptance with the help of external reviewers. The process is very rigorous. It allows a fair and timely review, and it promotes the high-quality manuscripts that we have come to expect from JCO. I wanted to be part of that decision-making process. For
me this selection as Associate Editor was really a great honor.
AC: How does your experience as a researcher and writer guide you as an editor?
Dr. Schwartz: As well as being the Chief of the Melanoma and Sarcoma Service at MSKCC, I also direct theJennifer Goodman Linn Laboratory of New Drug Development in Sarcoma and Orphan Cancers. Therefore, my writing efforts have focused on both my clinical and laboratory research in drug development across solid tumors, including gastrointestinal (GI) malignancies, sarcoma, and melanoma. I believe this background gives me a unique perspective when reviewing articles for JCO.
AC: Any advice for aspiring contributors?
Dr. Schwartz: I am looking for articles that reflect the very best in clinical research. Ideally, the clinical trials that are accepted for publication will be those that have the capacity to change the patterns of patient care in medical oncology. In terms of advice for future contributors, the metric that one should use in considering a submission for JCO is whether the clinical results are novel and whether they will have a significant impact upon cancer care.
AC: How is JCO different from other journals?
Dr. Schwartz: JCO has very high standards. In contrast to other journals, the review process is very dynamic, and the Associate Editors play a major role in the decision-making process. In fact, I do not know of any other journal where all of the Associate Editors and the Editor-in-Chief meet every two weeks by teleconference to discuss complex or controversial articles, and where a collective decision is made regarding acceptance with the help of external reviewers. The process is very rigorous. It allows a fair and timely review, and it promotes the high-quality manuscripts that we have come to expect from JCO. I wanted to be part of that decision-making process. For
me this selection as Associate Editor was really a great honor.